Living Letters – Chapter 4 – Church Life

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Living Letters: A Christian Legacy

Chapter 4 — Church Life: Building a Legacy Through the Body of Christ

Review

In Chapter 1, we looked at how God brought us to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ and how baptism publicly identified us as followers of Christ. Chapter 2 helped us recognize the transformation God has produced in our lives. Chapter 3 taught us to put those pieces into words so we can share our salvation story and point someone else toward Christ.

Now we come to another important part of our Christian legacy: our place in the church. God brings believers together into a body where we learn, worship, serve, encourage, and strengthen one another. The people who have faithfully served Christ through the church have helped shape our faith. God now gives us the opportunity to become part of someone else’s Christian legacy.

Lesson Focus

God places every believer in the body of Christ and gives us a responsibility in strengthening that body.

As we serve God through the church, people are helped, the church is strengthened, God is glorified, and our service becomes part of the Christian legacy we leave behind.

From Salvation to Church Life

Acts 2 records what happened when Peter preached the gospel on the Day of Pentecost. Thousands heard that Jesus, whom they had crucified, was both Lord and Christ. They were convicted and asked what they should do. Peter called them to repentance. Those who gladly received his word were baptized.

Then Luke tells us what their new Christian lives looked like.

Acts 2:41–42 — Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.

The order connects with what we have already studied. They received the Word, were baptized, were added to the church, and began living their Christian lives with other believers.

They learned the apostles’ doctrine together. They shared fellowship. They ate together. They prayed together. Later in the passage, we see them giving to meet physical needs others had in the church community, worshiping God, spending time together, and seeing others saved.

Acts 2:46–47 — And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

Church life gave these new believers a place to grow and a group of people with whom to live out their new faith. God was building His church as these believers learned His Word, worshiped, prayed, cared for one another, and shared their new faith with others.

That pattern continues in our lives. We come to Christ personally, but God connects us to other believers with whom we can grow, worship, serve, and carry out His work.

One Body with Many Members

Paul gives us a picture that helps us understand our place in the church.

1 Corinthians 12:12 — For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.

Think about your physical body. Your hands, eyes, ears, feet, heart, and lungs are different from one another, but each belongs to the same body. Each has a purpose, and the whole body benefits when each part fulfills that purpose.

Paul uses that picture to explain the church. The church is one body made up of many members. We have different abilities, responsibilities, backgrounds, personalities, and opportunities, but God joins us together in one body.

Paul makes an important statement about how those members got there:

1 Corinthians 12:18 — But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.

God has intentionally placed the members in the body. Our place among God’s people has purpose. He knows what the body needs, and He knows what He has given each member to contribute.

This also helps us understand why our differences matter. A healthy church needs different people doing different things. Some teach. Some lead. Some give. Some encourage. Some show mercy. Some help quietly behind the scenes. Some have abilities that place them in front of people, while others accomplish important work that few people ever see.

Paul’s body illustration gives every member value. A hand does not need to become an eye to matter. It needs to fulfill the purpose for which it was designed. In the same way, God gives us the opportunity to discover what He has equipped us to contribute and faithfully use it for His body.

God Gives Us Something to Contribute

Earlier in 1 Corinthians 12, Paul explains why the Holy Spirit gives gifts to believers:

1 Corinthians 12:7 — But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.

The word “profit” here means benefit. God gives spiritual gifts so that others can benefit from them.

Romans 12 gives examples of these gifts:

Romans 12:6–8 — Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.

Notice how practical these gifts are. Teaching helps someone understand God’s Word. Exhortation encourages someone to obey it. Giving provides resources that allow needs to be met and ministry to continue. Leadership gives direction. Mercy brings care to someone who is hurting. Ministry involves serving and helping others.

The point of Paul’s list is to use what God has given us. If God has equipped someone to teach, teaching becomes a way to strengthen His body. If He has enabled someone to encourage, that encouragement can help another Christian keep going. A generous believer can meet a need. A compassionate believer can care for someone during a difficult season. A capable leader can help others work together.

Peter teaches the same truth:

1 Peter 4:10–11 — As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God… that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ.

A steward takes care of something that has been entrusted to him. Peter says that God has entrusted something to us through His grace, and we are to use it to minister to one another.

Our abilities, opportunities, experience, time, resources, and spiritual gifts give us ways to participate in God’s work. Using them for His purposes brings meaning to ordinary acts of service because God uses them to help people and glorify Christ.

Every Part Helps the Body Grow

Ephesians 4 shows us what happens when the members of the church fulfill their purpose. Paul describes Christ as the head of the body and then says:

Ephesians 4:16 — From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

The wording is lengthy, but Paul’s picture is simple. The body grows as every part supplies what it has been given to contribute. “Edifying” means building up. God uses the work of individual believers to build up the whole church.

We can see that happen in ordinary church life. A teacher studies and prepares, and someone learns Scripture that guides decisions years later. Someone works with children, and a child learns the gospel. A believer notices someone going through a difficult season and begins praying for them. Someone gives, and that gift provides what is needed for ministry. Someone uses practical skills to take care of a need. Someone encourages a discouraged Christian, and that person finds strength to continue.

Each action may seem ordinary by itself. Together they are how the body cares for itself and carries out its work.

There is also satisfaction in knowing that our lives are being used for something God values. Paul told the Corinthians:

1 Corinthians 15:58 — Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

Work done for Christ has value. God sees it, uses it, and gives it a place in His work. That gives us reason to serve faithfully even when the results are not immediately visible.

The People Who Served Us

This brings us directly back to Christian legacy.

Think about the people God has used through the church to shape your life. Some may have been pastors or Sunday School teachers whose names you still remember. Others may have served in ways that received very little attention.

Someone prepared a lesson that taught you the Bible. Someone prayed for you before you ever knew they were praying. Someone gave money that helped provide the building, materials, missionaries, or ministries from which you benefited. Someone welcomed you when you were new. Someone worked with you when you were a child. Someone encouraged your family during a difficult season. Someone faithfully served year after year and showed you what Christian faithfulness looked like.

Their service became part of your Christian legacy.

That is one reason church life belongs in this series. Christian legacy is built through people. God uses members of His body to strengthen other members of His body.

Now we have the opportunity to do for others what someone has done for us.

Our Part in Someone Else’s Legacy

The Introduction to this series asked us to consider two directions. We have looked backward at the people God used to disciple us, and we are looking forward at the people God intends for us to disciple.

Church life is the main way God intends for us to disciple others.

A child may remember the teacher who made Scripture understandable. A new Christian may remember the believer who took time to answer questions. A grieving family may remember the people who prayed, brought meals, and stayed close. A young couple may remember an older Christian whose marriage gave them an example to follow. Someone who becomes a faithful servant of Christ may trace part of that faithfulness back to the person who first gave them an opportunity to serve.

We may never know everything God does through our service. Legacy often becomes visible later. We serve faithfully now, and God uses that service in people whose lives continue long after the moment has passed.

Hebrews gives us another reason believers gather:

Hebrews 10:24–25 — And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another…

“Consider one another” means that we pay attention to the spiritual good of other believers. We encourage one another toward love and good works. Gathering with the church gives us regular opportunities to do that.

The church is filled with people whom God intends to use in one another’s lives. Every time we teach, encourage, give, pray, help, lead, show mercy, or use another gift God has entrusted to us, we have an opportunity to strengthen someone else.

Find and Fulfill Your Place

Paul told the Romans that believers have “gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us.” Our responsibility is to use what God has given.

Begin by looking at how God has already equipped you. What abilities do you have? What kinds of needs do you notice? Where have other Christians told you that your help has benefited them? What opportunities has God placed around you? What kind of service brings you joy because you can see that it genuinely helps someone?

Spiritual gifts become clearer as we serve. We learn by participating in the life of the body, trying opportunities, receiving guidance from mature believers, and seeing where God uses us to help others.

Your place may change through different seasons of life. Opportunities, strength, experience, and responsibilities change. The purpose remains: use what God has entrusted to you for the good of His body and the glory of Christ.

This is part of the Christian legacy God is building through your life.

Someone served before you, and you received the benefit. Now God has placed you in His body with something to contribute. As you faithfully use it, other people can become stronger because you were part of their church, their life, and their Christian story.

This Week

Think about one person whose service through the church has helped shape your Christian life. Identify what that person did and what God produced in your life through it.

Then consider your own place in the body. Identify at least one ability, spiritual gift, resource, or opportunity God has given you that can benefit other believers. Ask where you are presently using it and where God may be giving you an opportunity to use it more intentionally.

The goal is to build a Christian legacy through faithfully fulfilling the place God has given you in His body.

Coming Up

God uses people in the church to shape one another, and He gives each believer something to contribute. In the next chapter, Giving Back, we will look at how what God has placed in our hands can be used for His work and for the good of others.

My Christian Legacy Journal

Chapter 4 — Church Life: Building a Legacy Through the Body of Christ

God has used people in the church to help shape our Christian lives. He also gives each of us opportunities to serve Him through the church and become part of the Christian legacy of others.

People God Has Used in My Life

Name three people from a church God has used to influence, teach, encourage, or disciple you.

1. ________________________________________________________________________________
2. ________________________________________________________________________________
3. ________________________________________________________________________________

Where God Has Led Me to Serve

What are some areas where God has given you opportunities to serve Him through your church? These can be past or present.

Being Available to God

Am I willing to fulfill a need or role in the church when God reveals that need or role and gives me the opportunity to help?

Yes   ________

I need to pray about this   ________

Looking Forward

Is there an area of church life or ministry you would like to learn more about or become involved in?

1 Peter 4:10 — As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.